Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon Announced For 3DS, Leaving Many Switch Owners Disappointed

If you had asked me this time yesterday about what Nintendo would announce today, I would have assured you it was going to be Pokemon Stars for the Nintendo Switch. “Pokemon Stars” has long been rumored to be an upgraded Nintendo Switch port of Pokemon Sun and Moon that was released last November for the 3DS. When today’s Nintendo Direct was first announced, it was assumed that they would, at last, reveal to the fans the much-anticipated game.

Except they did not do that.

Instead what was announced was an upgraded version of the game titled, “Pokemon Ultra Sun” and “Pokemon Ultra Moon.” They will feature an alternate storyline, as well as some new Pokemon, with a planned release date of November 17.

However, Switch owners were not left completely in the dark. Pokken Tournament Dx is going to be released on Nintendo Switch systems on September 27. An upgraded version of Pokken Tournament for the Wii U, the new version will feature 5 new Pokemon – Scizor, Croagunk, Decidueye, Darkrai, and Empoleon. The game will now feature friend-only matches, three on three battles, as well as an online ranked mode.

Many Switch owners are feeling disappointed due to these announcements. It was all but assumed that the Nintendo Switch would receive an upgraded version of Sun and Moon, but it is not going to happen. After reading through some comments about these announcements, many who defend the decision to not release the games on the Switch have one main argument: “Anyone who owns a Switch would already own a 3DS, so why would they need to complain? Who would own a Nintendo Switch, but not a 3DS?”

My answer? Me.

I did own a Nintendo 3DS at one time. Pokemon X is absolutely up there with my all-time favorite Pokemon games, and the handheld unit has a huge library of games that I had to be able to play through. Then it disappeared last February. I still to this day have no idea what happened to it, but the most obvious answer is I either a) accidentally left it somewhere, or b) it was stolen.

Since it was just one month away from the release of the Nintendo Switch, a handheld console/home console hybrid, I had little reason to pick up a new one. “The future of Pokemon and handheld games, in general, is on the Switch” everyone assured me. I decided it would be a waste to pick up a new one after considering all of this information.

Now here I am, without a 3DS console, while owning a Switch. I was very excited to have a full Pokemon experience on my system, but it now looks like that is not going to be happening anytime soon. Of course, the next entry in the franchise could very well get a Switch release, but I am not going to hold my breath. It looks like the only choice for people like me, who own a Nintendo Switch but not a 3DS, is to purchase a new system if we really want to play this upgraded version. It may be a good thing Nintendo just released the 2DS Xl, huh?